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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Sometime during the early morning hours of October 31, 2012, a black 2002 Ford Explorer with silver trim was stolen from a home Grand Bay-Westfield. The vehicle, with New Brunswick license plate GVD 858, has aluminum wheels and a child restraint seat in the back seat.The RCMP believes the person responsible may be linked to several other thefts, including four other vehicles that were stolen during the previous 2 days. Police recovered one of the stolen vehicles not far from where this latest theft occurred.

The RCMP reminds vehicle owners it only takes seconds to enter an unlocked vehicle to search for loose change, personal belongings, and keys left under seats or in consoles.

Anyone sees the stolen SUV, or notices suspicious people or vehicles in their area, is asked to call police, or contact NB Crime Stoppers at www.crimenb.ca or 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Despite what many people believe, our university and college are saying their rate of employment for graduates within the province is quite high.UNB President Dr. Eddy Campbell says they studied 2007 students two years after they graduated to find out that 88% of them were employed and most of them in New Brunswick. And even though it's been five years since that study, Campbell believes today's numbers should be similar and -- based on that stat -- doesn't believe many students are leaving the province.When it comes to more recent stats from NBCC, 90% of grads are employed and 94% of them stay in New Brunswick. NBCC President & CEO Marilyn Luscombe says those stats mean NBCC has a connection with the labor market and they're meeting current needs. She says obviously 10% of grads are unemployed or go out of province, but she doesn't think we should be too paranoid about those numbers. Luscombe says it's not a bad thing that some people go to school here and then leave for a different lifestyle, for money or for relationships. She says New Brunswick needs those students who go away, get global experience, and then bring those skills back into the province.

Luscombe says jobs that are in high demand are engineering technology, business administration, nursing, and ICT.

Looks like Cadillac Fairview has decided to part with both McAllister Place and Regent Mall.

Retail giant Primaris will pay a total of $317. 6 million to buy the two shopping centers, located respectively in Saint John and Fredericton. McAllister Place is the largest shopping centre in Southern New Brunswick with more than 110 stores and services. Regent Mall has over 115.

A call to Cadillac Fairview for comment wasn't immediately returned. No word yet on what, if anything, this will mean for the shopping experience at the two malls.

Two Saint Johners were inducted into the Order of New Brunswick today at a ceremony in Fredericton. It's one of the province's highest honours.

Arthur Irving is getting the nod for his contributions to the province's economy and preserving the natural environment, as well as Ann-Marie Tingley for her service as a life-long community volunteer and crusader for those with intellectual challenges.

The Order of New Brunswick was first awarded in 2002 to recognize individual New Brunswickers who have demonstrated excellence and achievement in their lives, volunteer work, and careers.Other recipients included Calixte Duguay of Caraquet, Raymond Fraser of Fredericton, Cindy Hewitt of Hillsborough, Audrey Lampert of Moncton, Raymond Lagacé of Atholville, Salem (Sam) Masry of Fredericton, Philip Sexsmith of Fredericton, and Ron Turcotte of Drummond.

City-owned vehicles are always a bone of contention at City Hall: namely, who's
driving what, where and why. Common council looking once again at
upgrades to the city's fleet which includes line painting machines,
sanders, 4X4s, trucks and more.

Councillor David Merrithew supports
the $15 million in upgrades, saying he was shocked by wear and tear on
some. He says he poked one city truck with a pen and chunks of rusted metal fell off.

Councillors
John MacKenzie and Bill Farren meanwhile expressing concern about city staff
using vehicles for personal reasons. More info is being gathered on the
fleet and what can be fixed--or cut-- in preparation for the 2013 budget.

Before we set to work on our arks...we are told the end of the rain is near. The remnants of Hurricane Sandy brings a whole lot of rain, wind, thunder and lightning to our region overnight and today.Meterologist Ming Szeto of Environment Canada tells CHSJ News we will still see a lot of water today.

He says we can expect up to 40 millimetres of rain in local thunderstorms. Overnight some places already got that much rain.

The rain will come to an end early this evening with a chance of showers after that and Thursday looks like a cloudy day with rain in the afternoon.

City police want to make sure all the ghouls and goblins searching for treats tonight are safe on the streets.Sgt. Jay Henderson of the Saint John Police Service tells CHSJ News they want drivers to keep a keen eye on the roads.

He says with the weather and kids running in between parked cars as they trick or treat they want drivers to be extra aware.

Henderson adds they also want to drivers to be very aware of their speed tonight especially in residential areas.He says they would like kids to wear face paint as opposed to masks so they can where they are going tonight.

Despite her fury elsewhere, it would appear that Saint John got off lightly where Superstorm Sandy is concerned.A whole lot of rain and wind and thunder overnight was the worst of it.

Environment Canada is still calling for up to 40mm of rain today with the good news being the rain should end by early this evening for the trick or treaters. If you are heading out earlier then a rain proof costume might be the plan.It's a challenging morning for folks in Fredericton. NB Power's website reports more than 600 customers in the capital are in the dark.

No significant flooding problems in the normal Saint John trouble spots after a wild windy and rainy night.

The Saint John Fire Department responding this morning just before 4am to a home on the west side without power.It's possible a lightning strike hit an electrical box causing the outage. The power has been restored.

Brighter than usual flaring at the Refinery gave some folks a scare last night but, we are told its normal procedure.

RBC giving a boost to the Saint John Regional Hospital's Heart Centre. The bank donated $50,000 to help purchase top-notch cardiac equipment.Cardiologist Dr. Vernon Paddock tells us the donation will help replace two heart-lung machines that are at least 10 years old. He says it takes private donations to get the latest hospital equipment. Paddock admits New Brunswick has a high rate of heart disease, saying there's a lot of smoking, and increased weight gain with less physical activity. He says we need to invest in both technology and primary health care prevention to promote healthy living.Heart centre staff perform over 800 surgeries and sees over 13,000 patients across New Brunswick and PEI every year.The donation contributes to the hospitals year-end goal of $750,000.

On the heels of the Carrie Underwood announcement, another country performer is making a return visit to the Port City.Charley Pride will bring his show to Harbour Station next May.

Pride has a career spanning over 5 decades with 39 #1 hits on the Billboard country charts.Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning and will be available online at www.harbourstation.ca by calling 657-1234 or 1-800-267-2800 and in-person at the Harbour Station box office.